Arlington Conservation Commission Continues Sunnyside Ave. Hearing, Declines Appeal Vote on Thorndike Order

ARLINGTON -- April 16, 2026, Arlington Conservation Commission defers on DEP superseding order for Thorndike Place and continues two active hearings. Meeting April 16 via remote session, the commission discussed but did not vote on whether to appeal the April 10 Massachusetts DEP superseding order of conditions for the Thorndike Place project, with an appeal deadline falling around April 24 at the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution. Member Susan Chapnick called the order "a big nothing burger," saying it failed to address technical stormwater concerns raised during extensive prior hearings. Associate member Nathaniel Stevens, an environmental attorney, described the OADR process as "lengthy and very involved" and noted DEP conditions are often less stringent than local commissions'. Conservation Agent David Morgan was directed to prepare a written comparison of the commission's requested conditions against what the superseding order contains and to check the status of a related 40B special permit that may have expired. A notice of intent for a sunroom and second-floor addition on a 3,003-square-foot Alewife Brook lot at 91 Sunnyside Ave. proposing 9.6 cubic feet of floodplain alteration and 160 square feet of native plantings as mitigation, was continued to May 7 pending a site visit scheduled for May 1; a second application for 26 Dudley St. was also continued to May 7 at the applicant's request.